[Rhodes22-list] Bosun's Chair

[John Lock]

At 01:45 PM 8/9/2007 -0700, David Bradley wrote:
>Has anyone tried using a bosun's chair on our boat?  With IMF the absence of
>halyards presents an obvious challenge.  The topping lift line seems a bit
>light and I'm not sure the sheave would be rated for that kind of weight.
>Any experiences?

Not yet... but soon.  I just bought one to go up and replace my 
windex, drive off the spider population, and considering installing a 
masthead light.  And just because I think it may be useful in the 
future, since I keep my boat in the water and lowering the mast will 
happen infrequently.

I have a non-IMF mast, so my first attempt will be to have someone 
haul me up on the main halyard using a winch.  I'll carry along a 
safety line, which I'll clip and unclip, as I go up in case of any 
problems.  I definitely would not attempt it with the topping 
lift.  Besides the line being too light, I am fairly certain that my 
masthead would not bear the weight without damage.  My topping lift 
sheave is mounted out on an extension that isn't meant to be load bearing.

If that doesn't work, I will have to consider ascenders as the 
alternative and haul myself up there.  That's a lot of extra expense 
for something used rarely, but that pretty much defines boat ownership ;-)

Cheers!

John Lock
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s/v Pandion - '79 Rhodes 22
Lake Sinclair, GA
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